Cambridge, United Kingdom, September 21, 2023 — The prevailing belief that attempting to suppress negative thoughts is detrimental to mental health, a perspective commonly held in clinical psychology, has been contradicted by a recent study conducted at the University of Cambridge.
Neuroscientists Zulkayda Mamat and Michael Anderson led a study involving 60 volunteers from various parts of the world. These participants engaged in online sessions over a span of three days, during which they were trained to block and, ideally, forget distressing thoughts. The outcome was a significant improvement in their overall mental state, accompanied by reduced feelings of depression. These improvements persisted when participants were reevaluated three months later.
A distinct control group consisting of 60 individuals applied the same technique to suppress neutral thoughts, rather than negative ones, and reported comparatively less enhancement in their mental well-being. These findings were published on Wednesday in the journal Science Advances.
Professor Michael Anderson remarked, “We’re all familiar with the Freudian idea that if we suppress our feelings or thoughts, then these thoughts remain in our unconscious, influencing our behavior and well-being perniciously. The whole point of psychotherapy is to dredge up these thoughts so one can deal with them and rob them of their power.”
He noted that it had become an accepted belief in clinical psychology that endeavors to banish certain thoughts or memories were counterproductive, potentially causing people to dwell on them even more. Anderson stated, “We challenge the view that thought suppression worsens mental illness.”
The study was conducted during the Covid-19 pandemic, a time when lockdown restrictions prevented the researchers from executing their planned research involving brain scanners.
Dr. Zulkayda Mamat explained, “Because of the pandemic, we were seeing a need in the community to help people cope with surging anxiety. There was already a hidden epidemic of mental health problems, and this was getting worse. So with that backdrop, we decided to see if we could help people cope better.”
Interestingly, most participants were astonished by how swiftly and effectively they could suppress specific ideas and memories by consciously excluding them from their minds. Many were so impressed that they continued to employ the technique in their daily lives after the study concluded.
The researchers intend to continue their work with more extensive studies, utilizing an app designed to facilitate thought suppression.
Mamat emphasized that this research should not undermine the entire field of psychotherapy but rather “offer an alternative for people when expressing their thoughts in talking therapies is not working. Honestly, some things are meant to be forgotten.”
Noel Bell, a London-based psychotherapist representing the UK Council for Psychotherapy, described the study as “potentially groundbreaking” and believed it would spark debate within the profession. He eagerly anticipated whether the findings from the Cambridge study would be confirmed and expanded upon in future research.
María Cantero-García, a psychologist at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid who was not involved in the study, noted that more research was needed “to fully understand the implications of these results.” She added, “This study could offer additional tools to help people deal with their thoughts effectively, always taking into account the circumstances and context. However, it is essential that therapists continue to assess each situation individually in their clinical practice.”
